This has been working really well for me, so I keep sending traffic to this landing page.

That is why the next action point on my to do list for WP Backpack is to add a small course for my subscribers.

I am also more inclined to create a course, and deliver it though an auto-responder, than to write an eBook.

This is more effective because, with an eBook, people will get it and unsubscribe or even worse, get it and forget about it.

But with a course, readers will have a consistent reminder of you, and they will become used to clicking the links in your emails and coming to your site. Doing this will, hopefully, help them take action and follow the advice from your course.

A course will also be easier to get done.

With an eBook you will need to write and design it before being able to offer it to your subscribers, but with a course, you can build one lesson at a time.

One lesson per week is a really good starting point and you can also setup your auto-responder to deliver your lessons every week.

So don’t make your job harder by trying to finish it in one go.

Instead, block time each week to write a new lesson and send it to your subscribers once it’s ready.

Shortcut: Start an auto-responder and offer a free course for your subscribers or offer a freebie to incentivize visitors to signup for your newsletter.

2. Place your Signup Forms Strategically

This year I redesigned EugenOpea.com after 6 month of research.

I’ve put into the new design everything that I learned about increasing visitor loyalty and conversion rates.

And one of the things I’ve been focusing is the signup form, or better signup forms.

If you browse the website you will notice that I placed them in strategic locations:

on the home page

in the sidebar

in the footer

on the landing page for my course

in an Email Cloud Box

Now, let me tell you a bit about each of them and why you should use them, too.

On the Home Page

For most of us, the home page is the most visited page on the website, so it’s really important to make a good impression for new visitors.

That is why I’ve chosen to first share some content with them, so they can see that I am knowledgeable and genuinely provide value.

Only after that I add the signup box, with the benefits of signing up, and a link to the landing page of my Google Analytics course, which contains more details about it.

So my advice for you is to first show your visitor valuable content and then present a reason to signup.

In the Sidebar

Every site has a signup box in the sidebar and you can, just as I did, add it to make it easier for people to signup.

But make sure that you also include a strong incentive for your visitors to take action.

In the footer

I am one of those people who, when I research something, I check every pixel of that website.

For this reason I decided to add a signup form in the footer, so those like me, who reach the end of the page, get a reminder that I want to share more content with them.

On the landing page

Landing pages are a great way to convert visitors into subscribers and this is the main reason why I’ve built a page specifically for my course.

I would recommend you to do the same and if you have more benefits for your readers, create a landing page where you can tell them more about those benefits.

You can use Premise to build really good looking landing pages, so you don’t have any excuse to not do it.

In a Email Cloud Box

Now, you’ve gotten to the most interesting part.

After doing some tests and checking heatmaps for my website with CrazyEgg, I’ve come to the conclusion that my visitors’ attention is not on the signup box from the sidebar.

Visitors are immediately scrolling to the next screen once they get on a page/article.

This is the reason why I added, what I call an Email Cloud Box, which moves with the visitor as she scrolls down.

I will show how to add it in a future article.

Additionally, you should also add a signup box below your posts, so once a visitor reads one of your articles, they can choose to signup for your newsletter.

But, please be aware that not every box works for everyone and if you add signup boxes all over your site, they will not be effective anymore.

If you would like to get started faster with creating signup boxes, have a look at Elevatr, my premium WordPress plugin. It can help you easily create signup forms and webinar landing pages so that you can increase leads through email marketing and webinars.

Shortcut: Take your time to think where you should add your signup boxes, do some tests and implement them. And definitely use Elevatr for your forms.

3. Ask for the Signup

A lot of people don’t know or try this, but asking for the signup has so much power.

When you close an article, when you share it on social media or when you talk about your website, ask people to signup for your newsletter.

Do it in a nice manner and also tell them the advantages. Tell them what’s in it for them.

More than this, ask them to share your newsletter with their friends and colleagues, or with their audience if they have an established business.

You will be amazed how many people will come to help you if you ask them.

But, you will have to also return them the favor.

And be genuine about it. This is very important.

Shortcut: Here’s what you should do right now: go in your favorite Facebook group, favorite forum and on the social media outlet where you have the most followers, and ask people to signup for your newsletter.

4. Start Guest Posting

Everyone sees this as a really hard task to do, but as long as you master your topic and put everything you know in writing the article, you can’t fail.

Yes, it can take months until it gets published and you may work hours to write it, but it’s worth it.

I got my first 1,000 subscribers from 3 guest posts I did at the beginning of the year and guest posting is always on my to do list.

You know that you can’t always increase conversion rates without increasing traffic, so guest posting, just like SEO, can help you drive more traffic to your website and gain more subscribers.

But here’ what I would recommend you to do to make sure you of success:

brainstorm 3-5 post ideas and choose a website were you want to submit your post

contact the website owner and present your ideas

if one of them gets approved, start writing it

send the traffic to a landing page that has a signup form and an incentive to signup

Additionally, when writing the article, make sure that you include your best tips, but think that you are writing it for your own blog.

Don’t get hung up in making it perfect, because there is no such thing as perfect.

Shortcut: Block some time and start brainstorming ideas for your guest post. Then send your pitch and once it gets approved, write the articles. Most of the time, it is as simple as that.

5. Improve your SEO

Just like guest posting, you may think that SEO is fairly difficult, but it’s not.

All you have to do is to build awesome content that people love and share.

Essentially, you will need to make sure that you write for people and not search engines.

I am saying this because search engines try to emulate human behavior when deciding what website is best for their search results.

So, put your best into writing great content and a really good headlines.

Then you can add a good description for your article to show in the search results page, get some links from friends and through guest posting and write more good content. 🙂

Plus, for additional peace of mind, I would strongly recommend you use Scribe, which is a fantastic piece of software that can help you better optimize your content.

Shortcut: Check this article about WordPress SEO and take some time to implement the advice there. Once you do that, you will be all set. Oh, and subscribe for Scribe. It’s worth it!

About Eugen Oprea

I help growing solopreneurs build a sustainable and balanced business with proven and actionable advice.

I am also the creator and co-founder of Elevatr, a new email marketing software that lets you build an engaged and targeted audience with powerful and easy-to-use email marketing tools.

Hi Eugen, what a comprehensive look at this really important topic. Building your list is such an important strategy that can really payoff in your business, but as you point out you’ve got to have the mechanics in place to make it happen. I like the sliding sign-up box idea and that’s also a great tip about delivering your incentive through an autoresponder. As a micro business time is so important and by doing it this way rather than creating a chunky ebook it means you can pace yourself. I look forward to seeing what ideas you come up with for your WP Backpack service. Great stuff 🙂

Your point about strategic placement is well made. One of my pet peeves is to arrive at a blog, and before I even finish reading the first line a sign up pop-up blocks my view. Whoa dude — let me see if I’m even interested yet! Feels like a pushy salesperson. By all means, make it easy, obvious, and enticing, but don’t bushwhack the poor devils! Makes it seem kind of desperate. Nice article.

Eugen, good article. I enjoyed reading your points regarding sign-up forms and guest blogging. Regarding your last point: there is a considerable amount of complexity around on page and off page SEO, but if you were to explain it in only a few sentences quality content is indeed key.